On-farm participatory evaluation and selection of crop varieties at climate changes in Southern Niger

Moussa, A A and Traoré, B and Gaoh, B S B and Abdoussalam, I (2023) On-farm participatory evaluation and selection of crop varieties at climate changes in Southern Niger. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 19 (6). pp. 572-587. ISSN 1991-637X

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Abstract

Participatory varietal selection (PVS) is one of the most rapid and cost-effective ways for breeders, farmers, and agronomists to identify high-yielding and well adapted varieties to current climate threats and to obtain feedback from the potential end users in the early phases of the breeding cycle (s). On the other hand, a participatory evaluation of improved and local varieties of pearl millet, sorghum, cowpea, and groundnut was conducted in Southern Niger during the growing seasons of 2020 and 2021. The farmers’ varietal and trait preferences were identified through on-farm participatory variety testing and focus group discussions. The findings showed that farmers’ preferred varieties match most often with scientists, and the farmers’ most preferred traits in the study area were yield, yield components, and earliness. The highest average grain yields across environments were recorded from pearl millet variety ICRI-TABI, sorghum variety SSD35, cowpea variety Dan Hajia, and groundnut variety 55-437. In the study area, farmers' strategies for tackling climate change and variability included selecting early maturing varieties with high yields and tolerant to drought, pests, and diseases. These findings could be critical for increasing farmers’ farming systems productivity and thereby contributing to poverty alleviation and food security in the Sahel.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : West & Central Africa
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Participatory varietal selection (PVS), pearl millet, sorghum, cowpea, groundnut, climate change and variability, food security
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Millets > Pearl Millet Mandate crops > Groundnut Mandate crops > Sorghum Others > Climate Change Others > Food Security
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	18 Apr 2024 10:33
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2024 10:33
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12634
Official URL:	https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJAR/article-...
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	USAID
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Google Scholar

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